Studying Dark Energy with Supernovae:. Now, Soon, and the Not-Too-Distant Future
Abstract
The nature of the mysterious dark energy is one of the key questions at the intersection of cosmology and string theory - or any fundamental-physics theory. Although dark energy is apparently the dominant constituent of the universe, it is extremely difficult to detect, let alone measure its properties in detail. Our primary route is to measure its effect on the expansion history of the universe; we use Type Ia supernovae as direct indicators of the relative scale of the universe at each moment in history when such a supernova explosion occurred that we can study. The current generation of supernova-measurement projects now in progress are advancing our knowledge of the time-average behavior of dark energy, but we are faced with a daunting challenge when we seek to make a measurement precise - and accurate - enough to distinguish the different dark energy theories by their predictions for the changes in the dark energy's properties over cosmic time. I here highlight some of the recent results and upcoming advances in our approaches to measuring, analyzing, and identifying details of the supernova explosions - including a new satellite design - that are aimed at putting this tantalizing measurement within our grasp.
- Publication:
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String Theory and Cosmology
- Pub Date:
- August 2005
- DOI:
- 10.1142/9789812701657_0002
- Bibcode:
- 2005stc..conf...17P